Iron Man 2: Glenn’s thoughts (Movie)

07. May, 2010

I’ll stay completely spoiler-free, and remember, this is all coming from someone that’s never read an Iron Man comic, or anything else from Marvel really (I was always a Batman guy.)

Iron Man 2 is a bigger movie in every way when compared to the first one, but it still retains all of the charm. The casting is great once again this time around, as there are a few standouts in the main cast of characters, and no one falls flat at all. The first and most obvious cast member is Don Cheadle, who has taken the role of James Rhodes over from Terrence Howard. I’m a HUGE fan of Don Cheadle, and even though I am saddened by the lack of Mr. Howard, Don steps right in and owns the character. If you want to see an incredible performance by Don Cheadle, check out “Devil in a Blue Dress.” His role isn’t the largest, but the impact of his limited time on-screen is significant.

Mickey Rourke is great as Ivan Vanko, and he seriously makes you feel uneasy when he’s in a scene. The intensity comes-through in a very real way, and he is incredibly believable as a man with a score to settle with Tony Stark’s legacy. Samuel L Jackson owns the character of Nick Fury, and I can’t think of anyone else I’d want playing that role. He’s a BMF through-and-through, and I can’t wait to see him in more of the films leading up to the eventual Avengers movie. Even Scarlett Johansson, whom I’m not totally a fan of, pulls her role-off in magnificent form.

But the standout in my mind in another actor that I’ve always been on the fence with, Sam Rockwell. I loved him in Hitchiker’s Guide, but in other stuff I honestly couldn’t stand him. In Iron Man 2 as Tony Stark’s business rival Justin Hammer, he excels in every way. The character is such a differing contrast to the glory-hound narcissist that Tony Stark is, Justin Hammer is the wimpy guy that talks big but hides behind his many bodyguards. He’s the guy that you seriously want to see someone bitch-slap, and most of that is because of Sam Rockwell’s awesome performance.

The story is solid, but it did meander a bit in the middle. Everything in this movie is bigger than the first, from the effects, to the set pieces, a bigger budget is quite evident. Jon Favreau does a great job again with the source material, but still keeps his personal touches there for his fans to discover. The one thing that I did take from this movie was me saying to myself “I wanted to see Iron Man on the screen more.” The actual “action” was sparse in the first 2/3 of the movie, but the finale makes-up for a lot of that. This isn’t to say there wasn’t any action, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Iron Man kicking ass in some huge battles or something.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed the hell out of this movie. It’s everything I’d expect out of a superhero film, and holds-true to the spectacle that’s normally portrayed in a comic book. I’m not even convinced that it’s “not as good as the first one,” as there is plenty here to enjoy. Last but not least, as in the first one, make sure you hang-out until after the credits roll, you won’t be disappointed.